Stokes Out for Month, Eyes NZ, Pakistan Tests

0:00I'm Cory with the story, and you've been listening to Europe News today, AI-powered European Coverage. England Captain Ben Stokes is out for the first month of the county season, while he recovers from facial injuries in a training accident. Last month at Chester LeStreet Nets, a ball smashed into his face from Academy Prospect Robbie Bowman, breaking his cheat bone and causing cuts, and bruising. He had surgery that went smooth, but rehab means no rushing back. Stokes hasn't played since England's last Ashes match in January. He aimed to return against Kent next week in the county championship opener, but now he'll skip the first four games to heal up proper. Durham coach Ryan Campbell says Stokes trained his tail off for that debut, but specialists got a green light in first. The hit was brutal, lucky, it caged his cheat bone instead of his eye, or it could have been way worse. Now everyone's on high alert in Nets, and Stokes even flinches at hard shots, a natural reaction after that scare. Looking ahead, he's lined up for matches against Worcestershire and Kent in May to gear

1:02up for the New Zealand test series. Campbell notes the Ashes 4-1 thrashing stung, but Stokes is a proud leader hungry to reclaim top-all-rounder status. With the long summer mapped out, Stokes plans to grind in the Metro Bank one-day cup two, building fitness for Pakistan tests. He's channeling that fire into beast mode training. Even fans got plenty to look forward to when he straps on the whites.